Page 94 of Educated By the Earl (Second Sons of London 1)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tessa dashed acrossthe square and Rainey admitted to her uncle’s townhouse.

“Where are my uncles?” she demanded.

The butler said, “Everyone is in the library, my lady.”

She hurried up the stairs, anger still filling her at what Rigsby had informed her about.

Was it possible Lord Ellington would not be punished for his misdeeds?

She rushed into the drawing room, where she saw both uncles, her cousins, and her aunt waiting anxiously.

Her aunt rose and took Tessa’s hands in hers. “My dear, how is Lord Middlefield? And how are you?”

Tessa took a deep breath and tried to compose herself, not wanting her ire to spill out upon her kind, concerned relatives.

“Lord Middlefield’s injuries are very serious, Aunt,” she said. “We need to sit and talk about what the outcome should be.”

The six of them gathered, all eyes upon Tessa, and she said, “Is it true that Lord Ellington will receive no punishment for his actions?”

Uncle Edgar nodded sadly. “The earl is a peer of the realm, Tessa,” he began. “Peers don’t commit crimes very often and when they do, it is usually against a member of the lowest class and thus ignored by Polite Society.”

Fury sparked in her anew. “But this isn’t just any crime, Uncle Edgar. Lord Ellington hired two criminals to aid him. They restrained Spencer while Lord Ellington beat him severely. Then the earl gave the men instructions to finish off the task. Uncle, they were told to beat Spencer to death. To leave him in the park, his pockets emptied, as if he had been robbed by footpads. Lord Ellington even told them they might take Spencer’s horse and sell it, dividing the profits between them. Surely, he must be brought to task for this.

“It is attempted murder!” she exclaimed.

Uncle Uxbridge cleared his throat. “It is just how things are, Tessa. You will have to accept them.”

“What if I have to accept Spencer’s death at Ellington’s hands?” she asked, outraged. “Spencer is far from being out of the woods, Uncle. Dr. Presley has tended to him the best he can but he has told me there could be internal injuries so grave that they could end Spencer’s life. And that is not accounting for the head injuries he might have suffered from the many blows administered by Lord Ellington’s fists.

“I want justice—and I will have it.”

“He cannot be arrested, Tessa,” Uncle Edgar told her. “The only recourse would be if Lord Middlefield challenged Lord Ellington to a duel. I can’t see that happening anytime soon.”

For a moment, Tessa toyed with the idea of issuing that challenge herself and then gave it up. She doubted Lord Ellington would accept her challenge and even if he did, she had never fired a gun. It would be utter suicide on her part.

“Then can’tyoudo something?” she demanded. “You are a highly placed official in the War Office. You must have the resources to do something. Can’t he be stripped of his title? Anything?”

She fell back against her chair, exhausted. The thought of Lord Ellington not having to pay for his crimes appalled her.

Adalyn spoke up. “There are ways to make Lord Ellington suffer,” she said. “One way would be financially.” She paused. Her gaze connecting with Tessa’s. “The other would be to ruin him socially.”

Tessa understood immediately what Adalyn referred to.

The cut direct.

It was a form of social rebuke. A judgment from thetonupon one who had curried immense disfavor with society.

It would be a start. A small one, but at this point, Tessa would take any victory she could.

She sat up again and clasped Adalyn’s hands. “How do we go about it?”

Adalyn said, “Leave it to me and Louisa. Our fathers, as well. Between us and our social connections, we can see that it makes a difference, beginning with tonight’s ball at the Blasingames’.”

Tessa looked to her uncles and said, “Lord Ellington will be in attendance at tonight’s ball. I know this because the two men he hired to help him murder Spencer are to meet him two blocks from there.”

“Why are they meeting him?” Louisa asked.

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